FIFA World Cup

With the kick-off to the global showpiece fast approaching, the-AFC.com shines the spotlight on one key player from each of the six Asian teams who have qualified for Qatar 2022.

The 22nd edition of the global showpiece – the first to take place in West Asia - promises to be an experience like no other with the state of the art stadiums powered by solar panel farms and equipped with detailed cooling systems to ensure optimum conditions for the players and fans.

One stadium will be dismantled altogether following the completion of the tournament while six of the venues will have half their seats sent to developing countries. Join the-AFC.com as we take a look at the eight stadiums and their unique designs.

The opening match and ceremony of this year’s tournament at Al Bayt Stadium have been brought forward one day following a unanimous decision taken by the Bureau of the FIFA Council on Thursday.

Consequently, the encounter between Senegal and the Netherlands has been rescheduled from 13:00 to 19:00 on Monday, 21 November.

The former central defender tells the-AFC.com all about that historic tournament in France and what he expects from Iran in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. .

The 80,000-capacity Lusail Stadium will stage the Lusail Super Cup between Saudi Pro League champions Al Hilal SFC and the Egyptian Premier League winners, followed by a concert.

With no domestic flights required during the tournament, the same top-class facilities will be used throughout the competition. For this edition, therefore, official training sessions the day before matches will also be held at the respective training sites.

With hosts Qatar joined by Saudi Arabia and Islamic Republic of Iran as well as World Cup perennials Japan, Korea Republic and Australia, the-AFC.com takes a look at the state of play in the camp of each of the six teams four months before the big kick-off at Al Bayt Stadium.

We come to the conclusion of this four-part series on the first-ever FIFA World Cup to take place in Asia by examining the legacy of the competition, both in the short term and two decades on.

There was no shortage of star power at the 17th edition of the FIFA World Cup, but there was also no shortage of underwhelming performances. The likes of Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and Gabriel Batistuta could not help their teams out of the group stage, but new names emerged and established ones cemented their status on the global stage with impressive displays in East Asia.

The 17th edition of the global event had its fair share of moments that will remain part of the FIFA World Cup folklore, and while Korea Republic’s exploits and Saudi Arabia’s learning experience to Germany were of note, those have been covered in Part 1 about Asian teams, we turn our attention next to historic moments elsewhere in the competition.

With the two host nations qualifying automatically, the opportunity arose for the AFC to better its previous record of four teams in France 1998 as Saudi Arabia and China PR booked the two direct tickets to join the hosts, but it wasn’t to be.

Islamic Republic of Iran defeated the United Arab Emirates in the AFC Playoff to reach the Inter-Continental Playoff where they faced Republic of Ireland. Goals from Ian Harte and Robbie Keane in Dublin left Miroslav Blasevic’s men with a mountain to climb in the reverse leg at Azadi Stadium five days later, and a late goal from current Persepolis head coach Yahya Golmohammedi was not enough to overturn things, as Team Melli failed to join the four other Asian nations in the continent's first World Cup.

Held across 10 Match Days from September 2, 2021, to March 29, 2022, as well as last week’s AFC Asian Qualifiers™ - Road to Qatar Playoff between eventual winners Australia and the United Arab Emirates, Asia’s top 12 sides battled across 61 matches with the Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Korea Republic and Saudi Arabia eventually clinching the Continent’s four automatic places, before the Socceroos claimed a record sixth AFC spot to join hosts Qatar.